In Time
by Clara Fonteyn
Summary: Percy, Annabeth, and Rachel find a breach in the belief that Kronos is really gone. In trying to help Hades, Maria, Nico, and Bianca, they find themselves in New York City...in the 1920s. Percabeth, Rachel/WHO?...eventually! Read to find out!
1. Discussions

"Percy? Rachel?" I asked. The three of us were sitting under the huge maple tree near the border, balanced uncomfortably on the roots while the sprawling branches covered us from the glare of the sun.

They turned to look at me simultaneously, looking up from the game of tic-tac-to they were playing. "I've been thinking about the war."

"Which one?" asked Percy.

I glared at him. "The French Revolution," I snapped.

"Which one would she be talking about, dummy?" asked Rachel. "She means the one we were in!"

Before Percy could say something else, I did. "Well, not the whole war, but Nico and Bianca."

"Bianca," Rachel mused. "Oh, she was Nico's sister, right?"

I nodded. Rachel had heard all the stories, of course. "Yeah. I was wondering…They were in the Lotus Hotel, right?"

"Yes," Percy said.

"That was a rhetorical question."

"Oh."

"_Anyways_," I continued. "What if Nico, Bianca, and their mom, Maria, had gone into the Hotel before? Like, before Zeus could, you know."

"No, I don't," Percy said. "Enlighten me." If it was just him, I would have ignored it, but Rachel looked at me questioningly, too, so I continued.

"What if they had gotten to the hotel before Zeus could kill her?" I whispered. Then I turned my head towards the empty sky. "Sorry." Looking down at the ground, "Sorry," I repeated. "And then Nico and Bianca and Maria could have been let out after the war to ensure that there was no danger."

"That didn't happen because the Fates are cruel," Percy remarked, icily. I turned to him, surprised at his sudden change in mood, but he just shook his head.

"Can't we, like, go back in time and have that happen?" Rachel asked.

"No!" I yelled, shaking my head frantically. Rachel looked startled. "No," I repeated a bit more quietly. "We can't do that. Only one being has the power to mess with time--and we defeated _him_ last summer."

"Kronos," said Percy. "Kronos messed with time. He was '_The Lord of Time,'_" he added air quotes.

"The Lord of Time?" inquired Rachel. Percy nodded affirmatively. "Then shouldn't time have stopped if he was defeated?"

I gave her a troubled glance. "That's what's bothering me. Immortals _do_ fade, like Selene and Helios. But when that happens, they pass on their responsibility to other gods, like Artemis and Apollo. Or they just _die_ when their realm gets too small, but how can time end?"

"Time ends if Kronos dies," replied Rachel.

"But Kronos can die only if time ends," I countered. "And time can't ever end--"

"So Kronos can't die? He was never truly defeated?" Percy asked. "Is that what you're saying, Annabeth?"

"Not necessarily," I said cautiously. "It might be that he has passed on his powers to a god."

"Or titan," said Rachel, voicing what we were all thinking. "And with that kind of power, any titan who wants to can end the whole world, can't they." There was no question in her statement. "They can end the whole world," she repeated bleakly.

I took a look at their faces, tired, as if the war had ended only yesterday. But Percy looked…bitter? As if he was…angry, belligerent. At least, I think he was. The look was fleeting, gone almost before it was there.

A slight breeze ripped through the forest, cold despite the warm sun. It had been feeling more like August than June lately, so I wasn't surprised. I pulled the pale peach sweatshirt around me.

"We need to talk to Chiron," I decided. "I think we need to talk to _someone_ about this. Because if we're right, then…we may have a bit of a problem on our hands."

_Disclaimer: I don't own Percy Jackson and the Olympians._

**Guess what? You can contact me…for **_free_**! All you have to do is to press the green button right under here…right under the useless fact! **

**Today's vintage song: **_**Let's **__**call **__**the **__**whole **__**thing **__**off**_** by Ella Fitzgerald. **

**Today's useless fact: It is Justin Timberlake's birthday today (January 31). **


	2. More discussions and stupid flashbacks

_Disclaimer: I don't own PJO. That goes for everything I write. Okay?_

"Before we talk to anyone about this, we should make sure…" Rachel trailed off. I guess my expression made it pretty clear that I was sure about this.

"Okay. Let's weigh the possibilities," Percy suggested. "So _if_ Kronos has passed it onto someone, then who?"

"It could be anyone. Any god--or goddess. Any titan."

"Who, then?"

"I doubt that they go about advertising it, like 'Guess what? I mess with time!'" Rachel put in her two bits dryly. "It would take a _serious_ quest to find out who does."

"So listen," I said. "Let's not go on a quest through space. Let's go on a quest through time!"

"Are you insane?" Percy inquired rather rudely. "And do you have any idea how much…"

"I have my doubts that Kronos passed on his powers, even though time is going on. But if we _do_ go back in time, then we know that _some_body still has the 'special' powers."

"So you're saying we do this as an experiment? Like, let's see if the insane three go back in time?" Rachel asked, eyebrows up. "And how will we get back here? And the details we need to take care of? It would take a lot of work, y'know."

"No, not necessarily as an experiment. I mean, I guess more or less, it would be an experiment--"

"A screwed up one," Percy interrupted.

"--But if we do go back in time, then I think we can aim for the thirties. That's the time when Bianca and Nico were born. Even better, if we go to the roaring twenties, we can stop Maria from meeting Hades in the--" Percy cut me off again.

"I don't think we should change history," he interjected nervously. "What I'm saying is, if we go back and shoot our great grandmother before she has kids, we wouldn't be born."

"If it's meant to happen, then nothing can stop it," Rachel said it quietly. "If Hades and Maria were meant to meet and have Bianca and Nico, then it'll happen. The Fates will see to that."

Percy and I exchanged a look. I still thought that this shouldn't be a problem, but there was a doubtful look on his face.

"Oh, come on!" I wheedled. "We probably won't get Chiron to agree, anyway. And besides, what's the chance that this'll happen, anyways?"

His face broke into a grin. "Is that what it's about? You just want something to be excited about? A quest to lead?"

"Well, maybe not lead…" I felt my own lips curl up at the ends. "But I guess you could say I am bored…"

"Annabeth!" Rachel groaned. "I thought you were serious!"

"I am!" I protested. "Is it horrible to enjoy it a bit?"

"Annabeth--" Percy started.

"You guys are bored, too," I argued.

"Well, maybe just a _bit_," Rachel admitted sheepishly.

"Ah, yes, nothing like being in a war to get rid of boredom," Percy grinned impishly, causing him to be pelted by a couple of pinecones that happened to be nearby.

"Come on. Let's go ask Chiron." I stepped up, then held out a hand to help Rachel up. I didn't put a hand out for Percy. Things had been more than a little awkward between us since last spring. I had a sudden flashback.

I was in my dorm room, playing with my fingers uncomfortably. I was hyperaware of Esther, my roommate, sprawled on her bed, doing her homework, and slyly listening to my conversation. I headed out the door.

"So what are you saying?" I asked. "You don't have time?"

"_No, that's not what I mean,"_ he tried to say over the phone. _"I meant--"_

"Oh, it's very clear what you mean," I replied. "Between your classes, breathing, circulating blood, and occasionally blinking, you don't have time for little old me."

"_Annabeth, you're making this more difficult than this has to be."_

Ah, the dreaded cliché line. The one that means 'I'm sick of you and I'll probably date some other girl named Camilla' or something of that sort.

I had a sudden vision of Percy in five years, happily married and on a honeymoon in Greece--or worse, Atlantis, underwater. In ten years, with two little kids running around--brown hair and green eyes, and black hair and blue eyes--and a wife with long brown hair and pretty, bright blue eyes. (Wasn't Esther telling me most guys prefer brunettes?) In fifteen years, on a cruise to Hawaii. In twenty years, getting a divorce.

"Fine!" I yelled. (Nearby, girls stopped to stare at me.) "Break up with me! But when you're forty and getting a divorce from Camilla after all the two kids and the happy times and cruises to Hawaii, don't come and cry on my shoulder!"

There was a stunned silence.

"_What are you _talking_ about?"_

I hung up before he had a chance to say anything else.

The next day, I wore all black--a black skirt, black top, black high heels. I accessorized with a gray necklace and a white tank top, with just a blue bracelet to add color. It didn't look 'mourning,' it looked 'I own a penthouse and have so much money I can buy you, your house, and probably all of your family's worth of belongings'.

That's right. When I break up, I break up in _style_.

Or I guess you could call it my hubris acting up. (And that's the least of my problems, since both Rachel and Percy are taller than me--I'm what you might call 'petite'--and I think I have some sort of Napoleon complex going.)

Well, that's the whole dramatic story of my broken (or at least dented) heart. Really entertaining, no?

Actually, Percy and I didn't _hate_ each other or anything. I mean, it certainly wasn't like, 'Hey Perce, best buddy, old pal, wanna go to a movie today?'

But it wasn't like '*sob* my dearest darling Perseus has broken my heart and now my beloved, my love, my prince, the man of my dreams, the love of my life, the apple of my eye is gone forever!'

Ew.

I can't say it didn't hurt (a lot, at first), but at least he's not going out with someone, either. I say either because I haven't gone out since then, although I did go to prom with…a guy I know.

Yeah. Let's not get into that, shall we?

Suddenly, I blinked back into reality. Reality was where Rachel was waving her hand in front of my face, going, "Hello? Anyone home?"

I felt heat rising up into my cheeks. "Yeah, so are we going to go ask Chiron, or what?"

Percy heaved a dramatic sigh. "Might as well," he groaned. And so he was in, too.

"Okay," I grinned. "Let's go, then!"

***

Fifteen minutes later we were in front of Chiron. He was frazzled, apparently, because he was swamped with requests from new coming half-bloods who were homesick and wanted to go home.

"Yes, what is it, Rachel?" he asked her.

Rachel looked at Percy and me, obviously expecting one of us to speak up. Percy raised both his hands, like _leave me out of this_. I sighed and began telling Chiron my suspicions.

"So what do you suggest we do?" I finished.

"We should have a counselor meeting," he said, but I objected.

"There's too many cabins. And I don't want wind of this getting out to anyone, or they'll be all over us, asking if we're really going to go back in time."

"All right, well, you decide as you feel best, Annabeth. Actually, all three of you talk about it. I'll take care of some problems we've been having with the Aurora cabin, and then I'll come back and we can discuss it."

"All right, Chiron. Thank you," I replied gratefully. I already knew what I felt was best.

In my head, I was making mental notes to check out books '20s fashions and buy fabric. Athena was, after all, the goddess of useful crafts.

* * *

***This update marks my semi-return to the fanfiction community! Now that I've learned how to manage my time... I am NOT promising updates very often, and probably not for a _long_ time for my other stories, but this one I'm very excited about.***

**So…whatcha think? I know it's still kinda boring, but I wanted to clarify how Percy and Annabeth broke up.**

**Over the phone.**

**Wow. How sensitive, Percy.**

**Anyway, please review! **


	3. Shopping and finding out it's possible

_Disclaimer: I disclaim it all_.

"So, what do you think we should do? Go through with it, or stay at home?"

"I don't wanna go," Percy complained. "And why the twenties?"

I sighed. "This is what I get for hanging out with idiots," I muttered. Rachel rolled her eyes, not taking my comment seriously. I don't think Percy even heard.

"I explained why we should go to the twenties, Percy. So we can stop Maria from meeting Hades; so that she would never have been killed; so that there would _be_ no lightning thief—"

"Aha!" Percy yelled. He didn't look particularly happy. "So that's it. You just don't want Luke to have been a villain. That's what this is all about!"

"Well, that might play a _small_ role in it, yes," I admitted.

"Small role," Percy mocked. "That's the only reason, and you know it. You just want to save Luke!"

"All right, okay?" I got annoyed. "Fine, so I want to save Luke, but that's still not my only reason. Why does it matter to you? It's not like he was still a villain—as _you_ put it—in the end."

"Fine, so maybe in the end he wasn't all evil," Percy conceded. "But that doesn't mean he wasn't screwed up to begin with. I mean, he accepted Kronos's offer."

"Do you have _any_ idea what it's like to have him taunting you?" I screamed. That little comment about Luke being screwed up really got to me. "Kronos pressured him!"

"Guys, come on," Rachel tried to intervene. "This isn't helpful." Neither Percy nor I paid attention.

"Do _you_ have any idea?" he countered. "Do you have any idea? Did you ever once—ever _once_—have to worry that the entire world—the entire _frickin'_ world—would be demolished, and it would be your fault?"

"Okay, whoa," Rachel said. She might have saved her breath.

"First of all—"

"No, you don't!" He answered his own rhetorical questions.

"That's a totally different thing, Percy! Your worries and Kronos pressuring you—"

He gave me a sarcastic laugh that was more of a bark. "Oh, was it that different? I wouldn't know, I guess, since I had to deal with _both _at the same time!"

That froze my next words. "What?"

"Did Kronos appear in your dreams? Did he send you evil thoughts? Did he tell you how much the world was messed up? Did he play on _your_ emotions? On your thoughts, your feelings, your friends? Your l—?"

"Kronos…" I cut him off

Percy appeared to calm down. "Yes. Kronos sent me dreams, told me to join his cause. He sent me feelings of loneliness and hopelessness and showed me images of the destruction of the world."

"You never even told me about that," I whispered. Now I really felt like a prize fool. _Go, Annabeth!_

He calmed down even more. "I had my reasons," he said, in a tone that clearly ended the topic. Just as well, I guess, because Rachel started talking.

"We're _supposed_ to be discussing whether or not to go."

"All right, all right," I said. "Why shouldn't we go? We're young, and we're tough. And I know a lot about the twenties."

"Okay," Rachel said. "But _how_ do we do that? I mean, how do we go back in time?"

Before I could answer, the door squeaked open. Chiron rolled in, in his wheelchair today. "So what did you decide?"

We looked at each other. "Any objections?" I asked. Neither said a word, although Percy looked doubtful.

Looking back at Chiron, I answered, hopefully with more self-assurance than I felt. "We're going to 1928."

He nodded. "All right. So how do you propose going about this?"

"Well…" Rachel began. "We were hoping you might be able to help us with that bit…"

Chiron sighed. "Well, I suppose you could talk to Zeus. Or maybe you could talk to Hermes, or perhaps Nike or Hecate."

"No, we can't talk to Zeus. If we tell him our reasons, well, that would not…end up well. But maybe we could talk to Hecate?"

"That's fine," Chiron affirmed. "You can go."

"Um, Chiron?" Percy asked. "Where do we go?"

I rolled my eyes. "To Olympus, Percy. Duh."

"By the way, where's Dionysus?" asked Rachel. She had a strange fascination with the pot-bellied, pig nosed god. I asked her about it once, and she replied (and I quote):

"I like pissing him off."

Anyway, Chiron replied "He's not feeling well. He's sleeping upstairs, and unless it's very important, I don't want to wake him. He might turn us all into grapes."

"No, that's okay," Rachel assured. "I was just wondering."

"Well then, shall we commence on our journey?" Percy asked. I shot him a strange look, and Rachel laughed. I guess that's the main difference between Rachel and me: I laugh less, and she laughs more.

"Let's go," I said. "We can take a cab."

"As long as it's not the Grey Sisters," Percy checked.

"It won't be," I assured him. "We'll take a normal cab this time."

That, of course, was easier said than done. It took a good half hour's worth of walking to get to someplace any cabbie worth his salt would be. It was good in a way, since we had time to talk and discuss our issues, though.

"So, who's Hecate, again?" Percy asked. "I mean, what does she do?"

I repressed a sigh. "Hecate is the goddess of magic, Percy."

"Okay, so that makes sense," Rachel said. "But why Nike? And why Hermes?"

"Well, Nike's the goddess of victory. She might help us be, well, victorious in this. And then Hermes…well, I don't know about him. Maybe because he dabbles in everything, he might know something about this?"

"So who should we talk to first?" asked Rachel.

"Let's talk to Hecate first," Percy decided. "If she doesn't feel like helping us—" his tone clearly said _if she doesn't know how_—"then we can talk to Nike. And Hermes."

"All right. That seems okay to me," I agreed. Then I thought of something else. "On the way there, can we stop by and talk to my mother?"

"Do we have to?" Percy moaned. "I don't like talking to your mother. No offense. She yells at me a lot."

"Well maybe she wouldn't if you didn't do stupid things all the time!"

"Like what?" he challenged, and to be honest, I couldn't think of anything. Luckily I didn't have to, because we were in front of a small shopping center.

Unluckily, in that small shopping center, a store caught Rachel's eye.

"We need to go in there," Rachel declared, "Look!" She pointed to the sign proudly announcing the store's name: _Silva's Antiques and Vintage_.

"Why?" Percy asked.

"Because," Rachel answered, "We need to find vintage clothes. And that place looks just right."

I tried. I swear to the gods, I tried. I told her I could sew the clothes myself ("But your fingers will hurt!"). I told her that we didn't have any money (she waved around the AmEx her dad had given her). I told her we didn't want anyone getting suspicious (apparently, there was a dance where we all had to wear vintage clothes.)

So, in the end, I had to go. But, in my defense, I did scowl blackly and muttered about how Clarion was destroying the Rachel Elizabeth Dare _I_ knew.

It seemed that I was the only one who was so completely miserable. Percy didn't seem to care either way. Rachel certainly wasn't crying. Well, she was, but they were tears of laughter. At my expense, I must add.

That, combined with my hubris, did not do much to improve my mood.

"You'll regret this," I muttered. Rachel laughed harder and Percy cracked a smile.

"Oh, come on, Annabeth, you're making this more difficult than it has to be."

The small smile that was on my face through my dramatic hysterics melted. "Right," I answered quietly, but with all the dignity I could muster. The dignity, considering the last time I'd heard that line, was not a lot.

Dented heart, remember?

I climbed the steps into the shop behind Rachel rather quickly. I mean, I couldn't just stand there _looking_ at him, could I? That would've been awkward beyond belief.

***

The inside of the little shop was hard to describe. I'll try my hardest.

First, I have to explain the neighborhood. It was a sleepy little dump. The houses seemed like kids had lived their fifty years ago, but then had grown up into senior citizens that occupied the space still. There was a musty kind of smell hanging in even the air outside.

The shop was different. Different like the color black is from the color white. Different like sound is from silence. Different like Percy is from smart.

(Okay, okay, so that last one was a little mean. But still.)

Inside, a song was blasting loudly, so loudly that I plugged my ears to hear the song at what seemed like a normal-loud volume. I didn't recognize the song immediately, probably because I don't typically listen to vintage songs.

"I love this song!" Rachel exclaimed.

"What is it?" Percy asked, looking horrified. "Dolphins being tortured?"

I had to smother a chuckle, producing a sound that sounded rather like a dolphin being _strangled_.

"It's from _Nothing Means Nothing Anymore_, by the Alleycats!"

"Who the Fields of Tartarus are they?" I asked.

"They were a punk group from the seventies. Awesome, aren't they?"

I could think of a few adjectives beside _awesome_, all negative.

"Is this the stuff we'll have to listen to when we…" Percy trailed off.

"Aw no, Hades no!" Rachel smiled. "Music changed as often as fashion. We'll be listening to…hmm, we'd probably be listening to Bessie Smith, King Oliver, and Louis Armstrong." She smiled at our expressions. "They're not bad, guys!"

"This is coming from the girl whose iPod songs are all strange."

Rachel ignored him. "Annabeth, do we have a record player at camp?"

"In _that_ attic? Probably, yeah."

"Great, then see if you can find some songs by any of them. Remember their names: Bessie Smith, King Oliver, and Louis Armstrong."

"Was he related to the guy who walked on the moon? And who would name their kid _King_?"

Rachel rolled her eyes. "No. And that was a title! Like Lady Ella for Ella Fitzgerald."

"Who was she?"

Rachel ignored his baffled look. Even _I_ knew who Ella Fitzgerald was. "Just look for clothes that fit you, okay? And try to stay away from sharp objects."

"Look over there," I suggested, pointing to where there were a rack of men's clothes. I showed him a picture on the wall depicting a fifties male model. "Look for clothes in this style."

Then I turned and headed away to find some clothes for myself. In retrospect, that was kind of stupid, since we weren't even sure if we could go. But, I guess since we didn't have anything better to do…it was better than drugs, right?

I smothered a small smile at the idea of Rachel being high.

In another half hour, each of us had three normal outfits and a special occasion outfit. I only hoped that I would be able to sew the rest of the clothes by myself. We finally finished up the purchases. There was a sleepy looking clerk, a guy who looked like he was in his mid-twenties. "Have a nice day."

Altogether, the price was one that I hoped I wouldn't have to see again. At least I didn't have to pay. Rachel didn't even blink an eye.

Outside, the silence was so deafening that I started to get a headache. "God, Rachel, I'm never shopping with you again."

"If you _ever_ shop again."

"You know what? I probably won't."

"I know. I tend to have that effect on people." She flashed me a big smile. I rolled my eyes.

"Onwards to Olympus," I grumbled. "We still need to talk to Hecate."

"Okay," Percy agreed amiably.

"Can we take a bus or something?" asked Rachel. "Maybe a cab?"

"I refuse to spend any more money today," I replied.

"It's not even your money! I paid for the clothes."

"Yes, well, tell that to my miserly instincts," I said. "I grew up with the recession."

"Yes, well, tell that to my hamstrings," she mocked. "I'm dying here!"

"It's not my fault that you don't exercise more! Do you even have gym at Clarion?"

"No, actually; it's considered injurious to our health. We do have dancing classes, though: classical dancing."

"Do you _hear_ yourself?" I asked incredulously. I'm not quite sure what Percy was doing during our conversation. He had not made any sort of input until right…now:

"I say we take the bus," Percy voted. "I'm tired."

"No, you're not," I sniffed. "You don't get tired unless you do some sort of intense exercise."

"I _do_!"

"Like what? You walked around in a store for half an hour! I say you _both_"—I gave Rachel a pointed glare—"take a special gym class, for those who pass out after moving from one room to another."

"Okay, now isn't that being overdramatic?" Percy questioned. I rolled my eyes.

"You'll thank me for the 'dramatics'—as you put it—when you're facing a monster and pass out because you're out of breath in a couple of minutes."

"The day I pass out fighting a monster will be April Fools' Day," he smirked.

"Let's see about that," I challenged.

"Hey, Annabeth?" Rachel diverted my attention. "I thought we were going to Olympus _today_?" I rolled my eyes for the second time in the past three minutes. My eye muscles typically get an intense workout anytime I'm around the freaks I call my friends.

"I am not paying for the cab ride," I mumbled darkly.

Two sets of eye muscles got a workout. At my expense, I must add. Again.

***

We got to the Empire State Building, eventually. The taxi guy looked at us like we were about to rob the place as if it was some sort of bank, but he let us out without calling the cops.

"Six hundred," I said to the guy behind the counter.

"No such floor," he sighed. It was apparent he didn't believe it.

"Oh come on! Do we _look_ like mortal hooligans?"

He didn't say anything. Then he pointed at Rachel. "_She_ does."

Rachel drew herself up to her full height. "I'll have you know that _I_ am the Oracle of Delphi. I have accepted the spirit of Delphi, Voice of the Gods, Speaker of Riddles, Seer of Fate." She kept a straight face while rattling off her outrageously long title, but I knew it still made her laugh.

He gave Rachel a suspicious look. "Is it you again?"

"Who?" I asked. Rachel looked outraged. _Nobody_ messes with her title, unless they want her after them with a large and painful spear.

"Me," came a smooth voice from behind us. We turned around.

"Apollo," Rachel said coolly. "Why were you playing with my title?" Then she turned back to the guy. "And how could you think _he's_ the Oracle?"

"Just let them through, James," Apollo interrupted. "I told you, my nephew dared me."

"Your nephew?" Percy asked.

"Hermes," Apollo replied. "I dared him to shatter Hera's favorite wineglasses."

I suppressed a shudder. Apollo put a hand on my shoulder, another on Rachel's, and nudged Percy to lead the way.

"Is this sexism?" I grumbled, meaning the way he told Percy to lead and helped us follow him. If I didn't stop with all this grumbling, I was going to sound like Scrooge before the transformation. We stepped on the elevator and passed the first hundred floors.

"Yes, it is," Apollo smiled.

"In that case…" I pulled away from him and Rachel stepped on his foot. It didn't really hurt him, of course, but he winced theatrically. Percy made a small sound which was in the same family as a laugh-cough. By that time, we were on the six hundredth floor.

"Hecate is over there," Apollo pointed towards a small but nice house. "And Nike should be near Hermes." I wasn't surprised that he knew who we were here to see. He was a god, after all.

"All right, thank you," Rachel said primly, and then looked at him pointedly until he got the message.

"Oh, you want me to go!" She nodded, slowly but deliberately. "Okay then! I'll catch you around, Rachel."

"What was all that about?" I asked her curiously.

"Trust me, you don't want to know." I frowned, but then shrugged it off. She'd tell me if she wanted to tell me.

"Hecate, anyone?" Percy reminded us.

"That's right. Let's go," Rachel said in a tone that could be described as _perky_. I would describe it as a sign of the end of the world. She bounced off.

I followed after her, leaving Percy behind. I heard him approach me from behind in a moment, though.

"Hey, Annabeth?" he asked. "I'm sorry about…"

"'Sokay," I cut him off. "It wasn't really your fault."

"No, I mean, I should have—"

"It's _okay_," I insisted. I wasn't particularly hoping that he would bring back a phone conversation from earlier. I mean, _The_ Phone Conversation from earlier. I took off before he had a chance.

I finally caught up to Rachel at Hecate's doorstep. "Well, what are you waiting for? Go ahead and knock!"

"I don't know…she was on the side of the Titans in the war."

"Oh great, she's a villainess!" Percy huffed.

"What is it with you and the word villain and it's derivatives?"

"You will succeed," came an intonation from behind us. I spun around to see a goddess with long dark hair floating loosely. Her eyes flew open to reveal cheerful blue irises.

"You want to go to the past, correct?" she asked.

"Um, yes…ma'am, we do," I began hesitantly. "But…who are you?"

"I am Nike, the goddess of victory and speed, daughter of Pallas and Styx."

"Good to know," Percy muttered under his breath. I didn't waste time in stepping on his toes 'lightly.'

"And I tell you: you will succeed on this quest." She started humming a song that sounded something like Happy Birthday to You. It was _very_ off key.

"Nike…ma'am…" Rachel began hesitantly. "Can you help us get started?" This goddess was leaving the impression that she was slightly 'off'.

"Of course, dear," she said. "Talk to Hermes."

"What can he do?"

"Just talk to him," she insisted. "He is able to bend the fibers of the Universe."

Okay, she was starting to freak me out now.

"Um…all right, Nike, we'll go find Hermes now," I ended the conversation hastily. "We'll be on our way."

"He's over there," she singsonged, pointing to the seashore that was plainly visible.

We ran as fast as we could.

"Hermes," Percy gasped when we got to him. Hermes turned around. He looked relaxed and happy for once, not like the way he had seemed when I was around, building on Olympus before I'd asked for summer break.

"_Quest-ce que c'est_?" he said, before he caught himself. "I mean, what is it?"

"You've been in France?" I guessed.

"We need to go back in time," Rachel said at the same time.

"Oh, that's easy," he replied. "There's a simple way to do it: speed you up past the speed of light, and then focus energy on the time you want to go to."

"Right…" I thought of a way to break my next bit of information to him. "We meant a possible way."

He laughed then, a loud, flamboyant laugh that made me question exactly where he had been and more importantly, _who_ he had met.

"Have you been in Paris? The city of love?"

"Be grateful it's not Vegas," Percy winked at me. "The city of sin."

Remembering that we had once shared a suite in Vegas, I tried not to blush. This was getting really awkward. I mean, come on! First there was the fight—one of many—about Luke this morning, and then the repetition of the "harder than it needs to be" line. And then—now—this. I was starting to worry about Percy's mental health.

"So can you do it?" Rachel asked.

"If you can be here in two days, then yes, I can do it."

"All right, we'll be back. In two days," I confirmed.

"Yes, that's perfect," he said. This sudden change in character was kind of freaking me out, much like Nike had.

He looked down at a text message, and from the little of it I saw, I read _Mon amour_. My love.

Hmm…

"No go on to your camp, children," he smiled, typing a response quickly. We shared a look, a smile, and left him alone.

**End Chapter.**

A/N: 3,460 words. The second longest chapter I have ever written, but only by 247 words. (To see how little that is, look at the top of this chapter. It's from the start to "Kronos pressured him!"

But still. I like this chapter a lot better, even though it's boring. It's a lot longer than normal, right??

**SO: Please press that brand-new-blue button! (Yes, I'm begging. Heck if I care.)**

By the way: what do you guys think about the changes Fanfiction has made? I don't like anything except for the review button. *Sigh* I don't deal well with change.

One more thing: Make sure that **Apollo/Rachel** really is the pairing you want! If it isn't, then I will go on making it Apollo/Rachel. You have until I upload my next chapter. If **Apachel is still tied with Nicachel**, I will make the story **Malcolm/Rachel (Malchel).**


	4. Sewing and almost gone

_Disclaimer: I don't own_.

"Okay," I said. We were out on the sidewalk in front of the looming Empire State Building. "So we come back in two days, and then we go back to 1928."

"Well, we don't go _back_. We go _to_ 1928," Percy corrected.

I waved it away with my hand. "That's what I meant. So when we get back to camp, I'm enlisting you for sewing clothes."

"But that's why we bought them!" Rachel protested. "So you—we—wouldn't have to sew anything."

"We're going to wear the same four outfits our entire time there?" I asked incredulously. "I think that's like a health violation, or something."

"Is it really?" Percy asked. He fingered his shirt.

"Are you serious?" I asked. "That is disgusting!"

"No, I'm kidding," he assured me. "I washed this shirt…recently."

"How recent is recently?" I asked suspiciously. He didn't appear to hear me. "How recent is recently?" I repeated loudly. He still didn't hear, despite the fact that I was standing right there. I sighed and stepped away from him.

"Keep your germs fifteen feet away from me," I warned him.

"Oh, come on, Annabeth," Rachel laughed. "He's just kidding."

"I have my doubts," I said. "You haven't seen his room. There were clothes lying everywhere. Pens and pencils were thrown in the mess, and then there was the Batman—," I started.

"Don't go there!" Percy yelled before I finished.

I rolled my eyes. "Okay, okay. Jeez."

"So anyway, when we get back to camp, we can talk to the other kids in the Athena cabin. And of course, you'll have to help."

"Why?" Percy groaned.

"Because it's _your_ clothes we're making," I answered. "Grow up."

Percy stuck his tongue out at me. "Okay, fine. But Annabeth?"

"What is it?"

"I don't know how to sew."

I remembered to count till ten. "What about you, Rachel?" She shrugged her shoulders helplessly in response.

"I never had to sew clothes, so I never did," she answered.

I counted to twenty this time. Not because I was surprised that they didn't know how to sew, but to stop myself from having a panic attack when I thought of all the clothes I would have to sew, in the period of two days.

"All right," I said. "So you guys don't know how to sew clothes. Okay. Then you'll have to go out and work so we'll have the money we'll need."

"Won't Camp just give us, like, a hundred dollars?" Percy asked. "That's what happens on quests, right?"

"But this isn't a proper quest," I reminded him. "We don't have a prophecy. There's no _major issue_ we have to fix. It is not strictly necessary that we do this."

"Oh. So that means…"

"We don't get any help from Camp," I clarified.

"Fantastic. Terrific!" Percy said sarcastically. "So we might die of, like…"

"The Influenza Epidemic," Rachel suggested helpfully.

"Yeah, the Influenza Epidemic, and nobody would help?"

"The Influenza Epidemic took place mostly from 1918 to 1920. We are going to 1928. That won't be a problem."

"But there'll be _some_thing going on, right?" Percy persisted.

"Actually, no," Rachel smiled. "World War I was in the first decade. And the Depression didn't hit until 1929. We shouldn't have a problem. Times were great in 1928."

"Exactly!" I exclaimed. "And we know where to look for Maria. She would be in Washington."

"Oh yeah, Maria," Percy said. "I forgot why we were going again."

I rolled my eyes. "Yes, Seaweed Brain. We are going back—no, excuse me, _to_ 1928 in order to stop Maria from meeting Hades."

"Should we really do that, though?" Rachel asked. "If they never met, then Nico and Bianca wouldn't have been born. And that could have changed the entire outcome of the War."

"Well, maybe we wouldn't stop them from meeting, _exactly_," I admitted. "But we could at least warn them to take the kids to the Lotus Hotel a little earlier." I blushed, because I remembered the time I was in the Lotus, and that made me think about the comment Percy made when we were talking to Hermes.

Okay, I have a dirty mind, then. So what? Most people my age do.

"And that might have made it better by not having Hades be so bitter," I concluded.

"Good, as long as I still get to be the hero," grinned Percy.

Rachel said, "May I remind you that you were not really the hero?"

"No, you may not," Percy replied.

"Come on," I urged. "Let's get to Camp. You guys have to search the newspapers for jobs."

"I don't," smirked Rachel. "I'm going to sell some of the stuff I paint. I bet I can get my father's friends to buy some."

"Lifeguard," Percy said.

"Whatever. We still need to get back soon. It's getting late," I showed them my watch. "And I don't like some of the creeps on the streets around here."

"I agree," Rachel said. "Look at that guy." She indicated a guy who looked like his top half was paralyzed and his bottom half was doing some sort of tap dance. He was sitting on the ground and leaning against a dirty looking fence, sweating profusely.

"Coke," I said. "Or maybe he's on H."

"How would you know?" Percy asked curiously.

I smiled and refused to say another word.

"Let's go," Rachel urged. "And in a taxi this time," she threw me a pointed glare.

I shrugged. "Fine with me. Actually, I'd prefer that to walking. I don't want to get murdered or worse."

Percy rolled his eyes. "Drama."

I glared at him. "You never know, Percy."

"Okay, okay!" Rachel interjected. "We're taking a cab."

So, we got a cab, and then got _in_ the cab. Everything outside passed in a blur. I looked out, in my mind trying to make a list of everything we'd need. As much as I tried, though, I kept coming back to a song I had heard years ago. The melody was haunting, and the lyrics weren't in English. I tried to remember exactly what they were, but…

Eventually, I felt my eyes sliding closed. I was aware that Rachel and Percy were talking, but the conversation was in hushed voices so that the driver couldn't hear. Their whispers were a kind of white sound for me; combined with the smooth movement of the vehicle, I was lulled to a shallow sleep.

The dream I had was interesting.

It was in a small apartment. The apartment itself was nice enough, but something…the way I was looking at the world, or perhaps just at life…it felt like the apartment was horrible. Like my life was ending. Like something was horrifically wrong.

I was facing huge windows. I wondered what was behind them, what section of the world I was standing on. Long, cheery curtains covered them, bright and happy.

I heard a creaking sound behind me, so I turned on my heel to see what it was. There was nobody there.

I turned back, facing the large windows. The curtains were over them, so I couldn't see where I was. It was fairly dark, so I assumed it was night.

I walked over to the windows and tried to pull open the curtains. They stayed closed. So, I looked at my surroundings. There was a glass table and a few scattered chairs. There were two sofas; in a slight distance, there was a dining table.

It was brightly colored and happy looking, but I fell to the floor. The air in this place…I felt like crying.

"I should have gone," I sobbed. "I should have listened to you."

There was silence.

"Annabeth!" a shocked voice came from behind me.

Slowly, I turned. I wanted to see who it was, but I didn't want to move faster.

I didn't see the face of this mysterious male.

Rachel shook me awake. "Annabeth, come on; we're here!"

I blinked sleepily. "Okay." I allowed her to tug me out of the cab. "Thanks."

"Come on, we should talk to Chiron about what we found out."

"Ugh, do we have to?" My voice sounded slower than usual. "Can't we tell him tomorrow? I'm so tired."

"Um…okay?" Her voice went up at the end, so it sounded more like a question.

I yawned, covering my mouth with my right hand. My left was holding the bags with everyone's clothes in it.

"I'll take these back to my cabin, okay?" I asked. "I'll make the clothes using these as a pattern."

"Okay, Annabeth." Percy frowned. Come to think of it, Rachel looked worried, too. "But you look tired."

"I'm fine," I assured them. "Just…never mind, it's nothing. You guys go eat, okay?" I nodded towards the dining pavilion, where the rest of camp was. "I'll go back to my cabin and get some sleep. See you both tomorrow."

Before either one said anything, I took off down the hill. I tried to keep the image of the apartment out of my head.

***

By the time I reached my cabin, I wasn't drowsy or tired anymore. I just wanted to get Percy and Rachel's clothes done. I looked at the time: there was still a good hour before anyone returned. Quickly, I slid a CD into the CD player by my bunk and pressed play.

Then I went and opened Rachel's bag. I had a basic plan—sew a couple of skirts and a few tops separately. Then, I could sew them together and pull them apart as I needed to later on. _Or maybe I should say earlier on_, I thought. After all, we were going back in time.

I took the measurements for the skirt and for the top of a dress, and wrote them down. After putting her dresses away, I opened Percy's bag. His clothes would be harder, because I had never sewn clothes for a guy.

His outfits turned out to be not that hard. The pants were extremely high waisted, and they went along with plain shirts that buttoned up and what looked like sports jackets. I took his measurements, too, and wrote those under his name next to Rachel's.

I knew I should take their measurements, not their clothes', but I didn't want to take a measuring tape to the dining pavilion. And we didn't really have enough time for me to take the measurements tomorrow.

If I worked fast, I could get Percy's clothes get done tonight. Just a couple of pants and a few shirts. Actually, I might make him buy the rest of the pants, and just make three or four shirts…yeah, that's what I'll do, I decided.

I was about halfway done through his third pair when I heard people returning to the Cabin, tired and ready to go to bed. I sighed. Putting them away, I changed and got ready for bed.

***

The next morning, I sat out on all my activities, which wasn't a good thing. And also, none of my so-called siblings were willing to help. I rolled my eyes and went to the Artemis cabin, which was sure to be empty. Nobody would bother me there, so I could get all my work done.

Unfortunately, I am a workaholic, and therefore, I had to keep going until I was done. At some point, I got bored with running two outlines of a shirt under a sewing machine—borrowed from the Aphrodite cabin—which explained why it looked like Barney the Dinosaur made Percy's sixteenth and last shirt.

I heard everyone leaving for lunch. I got up, since I hadn't had anything since breakfast and now I was hungry. I picked up the shirts, his original clothes, and his hat. I can safely say that that hat looked…strange.

"Hey, Annabeth!" Rachel called from behind me. "Wait!" Obligingly, I stopped right outside the steps of the Hera cabin until Rachel scurried up to me. "Why are you going this way?"

"I have to give these to Percy," I said, gesturing to the fabric in my hands. "I'm fully expecting to buy and/or otherwise provide himself with pants. I hate sewing pants."

"Um, okay then," Rachel said. "So, how're you feeling today?"

I shot her a strange look. "I'm feeling fine. Why shouldn't I be?"

"You seemed kind of sick yesterday," she pointed out.

"Oh, I was just…tired, I guess. I'm fine now!" I flashed her a _brilliant _smile. Note the sarcasm. "Oh look, here we are."

I knocked on the door, but then barged in without waiting for a response. Nobody was in there, probably because Percy was the only one who _should _have been and he had probably already left for lunch.

I sighed. The place looked like a shambles, as usual. I placed the tall stack of shirts on the second bed, because the first one was still not made. I knew that he wouldn't notice if I added a few more shirts to the large pile on his bed.

"Hey, where is Percy, anyway?" Rachel asked.

"He's not here?" I asked, surprised. I hadn't been out of the Artemis cabin since this morning. "Where would he be?"

"I don't know," Rachel shrugged. "I've been working on my paintings all day in the arts and crafts. There could have been an alien invasion and I wouldn't have known."

"But where could he go?" I wondered. "You can't just leave camp in the middle of summer. Chiron would never allow it."

"Hello, dollies!" Percy swung through the door.

I stared at him.

Rachel stared at him.

He didn't seem to notice, because he started singing loudly. "_Sunny day sweeping the clouds away, on my way to where the air is sweet!"_

"I think he's finally lost it," Rachel whispered.

"I agree—"

"_Can you tell me how to get to Sesame Street? Come and play, everything's A-OK— _Ha!" He laughed suddenly.

I went up to him and grabbed his shoulders. "Percy! What are you doing?"

"Ha ha!" he laughed, out of breath. "No, sorry. I just had to see the look on your face…" I shook my head.

"Where were you today?" Rachel asked.

He gave us both a look like _y'all are so stupid_. "Lifeguard, re-mem-ber?"

"Ah. Well, I made shirts for you, and I'm working on our clothes next," I said, gesturing at Rachel and myself. "They're on that bed. And you have to buy your own pants. I suggest you buy them when we get there, 'cause they're going to be a lot cheaper."

"Why can't you make them?"

"Because the take a lot of time to make, and also because I would need some measurements that I'd rather—ah—not take." Oh my _gods_, that last bit was really embarrassing. Luckily he got it and didn't try to press the point.

"So can we go eat?" asked Rachel.

"Yeah, let's go," I said, and all three of us walked off towards the dining arena.

***

I could go into a lot of detail about the next day, but that would be kind of boring. All I really did was make skirts and tops with fabrics that looked good together (stolen by Connor Stoll) using needles and thread (stolen by Travis Stoll).

Anyway, by the time I was finally done, I thought my hand would die of cramps. But, I did finish, and I had time—and fabric—left over to make a skirt. I sold that one, figuring that we might as well make some money, right?

Rachel had managed to finish four paintings, scenic, and six, abstract, by working day and night. She had sold the scenic ones like hotcakes, mostly because they were of our woods, with pictures of nymphs and naiads. Nobody would suspect a thing, since everyone thought Rachel had an 'overactive imagination.' Ha! Eventually, the abstracts sold, too, but not for nearly as much as the scenes. Still, it was a lot of money altogether.

Percy had been working as lifeguard on the beach right outside Camp. It was kind of funny, when he told me what he did. He'd make waves kind of charge people, and then leap in and save them. Normally, I wouldn't like that idea, but nobody was in any real danger, so there wasn't a problem.

In any case, since he was doing so well, he convinced his boss (who runs the beaches, anyway?) to pay him in advance and give him a few days off. When he told me, though, his eyes were glinting mysteriously, and he was surrounded by a fishy smell, so I had a strong feeling that Poseidon had something to do with it.

So, we were ready to leave our time behind—or would it be ahead? I didn't really know, but getting out of the taxi, with our luggage, looking up at the Empire State Building, I didn't really care, either.

"I can't believe we're really going to do this," Percy muttered.

"Believe it," I retorted. "Come on, let's go." So together, all three of us, we walked up into the lobby of the Empire State Building.


End file.
